1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to hand tools used in laying carpet. It relates more specifically to a hand tool which both trims and tucks carpet edges.
2. Background
A carpet tucker is a tool that tucks the edge of a carpet adjacent to a wall or baseboard in order to give the carpet a finished appearance. Tucking presses the edge of the carpet firmly into a tucking trough formed between a tacking strip and a wall or baseboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,392 to Iannacone (the “'392 patent”), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses a multi-wheeled carpet tucker which works bidirectionally. FIG. 7 of the '392 patent shows the carpet in position to be tucked. FIG. 8 of the '392 patent shows the carpet tucker in operation.
Carpet trimmers of various sorts are known in the art. Carpet trimmers conventionally have vertically-oriented cutting edges and are used to cut the carpet separately from tucking the carpet. Furthermore, the mechanisms for securing the blades in the carpet trimmers of the past require tools and are tedious to manipulate in order to install or replace a blade. Still further, the carpet trimmers of the past are not well adapted to tucking carpet.